


Not Alone

by softeststarboy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Gen, Pre Shance, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 01:52:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15786513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softeststarboy/pseuds/softeststarboy
Summary: Life on Altea had always been rather simple for Lance. He had everything he could have ever asked for. However, the universe seemed to have different plans for him.





	Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic for the [Altean Lance zine!](https://alteanlancezine.tumblr.com/) Thank you to everyone that supported the zine and I hope you enjoy this!

Lance sits in the field of juniberries, basket full of the prettiest ones for his mama. She always loves when Lance brings her home all the pretty flowers he can find after a long day of working with the King. Sometimes Lance will stay in the castle, attached to his mother’s leg, afraid to move or displease the king. He’d rather stay in the fields all day, picking flowers to his heart’s content. Alchemy isn’t very interesting to an 8 year old anyway. 

“What are you doing?” A voice calls from behind Lance, startling the poor boy. 

He turns around, surprised to see the Princess of Altea standing in the field, holding a basket similar to his. 

“I’m here with my mama, she works in the castle with your father, Princess,” the small boy squeaks, his voice betraying him as he tries to stay calm in front of the princess. This is the first time he’s spoken to her directly before he’s only seen her in passing. Only ever peeking out from behind his mother’s legs, too fearful to speak out and get scolded. Not that he has ever been scolded by anyone in the castle before. The presence of the royalty simply puts him on edge. 

“I do have a name, you know?” 

“Yes,” Lance answers almost immediately, of course, he knows her name.  _ Every _ Altean knows her name. The day she was born was celebrated by all, their planet brought together by the birth of a beautiful baby girl. Now, she’s a beautiful young girl; her hair, outfit, and accessories putting Lance’s to shame. He doesn’t know how she makes a simple dress look so nice. Even her markings are a gorgeous shade of pink whereas Lance’s are just a common blue. His mother says his are far prettier than anyone else’s, describing them as a deep blue like the ocean, matching his eyes perfectly. 

Allura moves closer to Lance, tapping her finger against her chin as she thinks. “I don’t think it's very fair that you know my name but I don’t know yours.” 

“You want to know my name?” 

Why would a princess want to know his name? He’s just a normal boy, his mother is rather spectacular but he definitely isn’t.  

“Yes, why is that so odd? I’m sure I’ll see you again. Maybe we can even be friends.” She places her basket next to Lance’s. She sits next to him, smoothing out her dress while she waits for him to give her an answer. 

“Friends… the Princess of Altea wants to be friends with me?” 

“I’m a normal person too,” she pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Lance nods, handing her one of the prettiest juniberries. “My name is Lance. Now that we’re friends, can I braid your hair?” 

Allura grins, nodding and moving to sit in front of Lance. He braids her silky white hair, adding a juniberry here and there, they look stunning in contrast to her hair. The pair spend the rest of the day in the field, getting to know each other and enjoying each other’s company. Being around someone his age rather than in the fields all alone is a nice change of pace for him.

 

* * *

 

“Have you thought about what my father said, Lance?” Allura asks, her back facing him as he braids her hair on her bed. 

“Do you really think I should leave school and come to the castle? What about my friends and all of my lessons?” 

“You barely have any friends.” 

“Hey! I have friends!” Lance shouts, playfully pulling a little harder on her hair. 

“Lance, I don’t care about the friends you don’t have. My father said he sees a lot of potential in you. He even said you’re stronger than  _ your _ mother. You already know nearly everyone in the castle, you know my teachers, the transition would be fairly easy.” 

He hums, tying the end of her braid with a vibrant yellow ribbon. 

“Working with your father would be nice… maybe he’d even let me ride along in the red lion,” he sighs, moving to face Allura. “I’m a little nervous, I’m glad I have you on my side.” 

Allura smiles, pulling Lance in for a hug. She holds him close, whispering in his ear, “I’ll always be on your side, Lance.” 

Lance nods, leaning into her embrace. Studying under the king is a lot to consider for a teenager, his entire life can change based on this  _ one _ decision. Working with the king and his mother for most of the day does sound like it’d be pretty fun. Alchemy has always caught his eye, he would watch his mother work for hours and hours, silently absorbing all of the information she provided. Studying with her would be like a dream come true, the change shouldn’t take much to get used to. 

 

—

 

Lance’s eyebrows knit together, he has to stay focused. It's not like King Alfor would yell at him if he messed something up but he still wants to be perfect, to show everyone he deserves to be here too. 

“You’re doing great, Lance, relax,” the king chuckles, his hand clasping over his shoulder. 

“It's easy for you to say ‘just relax’. You make alchemy look so easy, but this is all so hard,” he sighs, threading his fingers through his hair. 

“You remind me a lot of myself when I was young. You have so much passion inside of you, you can’t give up on it. You need to keep pushing past all of the barriers and challenging tasks. I  _ know _ you’re going to be a great alchemist once you’re older.” 

Lance nods, letting the king’s words sink in. 

“Come, I want to show you something.” He walks off, fully expecting Lance to follow right after him. 

The boy quickly walks over, catching up to the king, not quite sure what he wants to show him. His eyes widen as soon as he realizes where the king is taking them. 

_ The lions hanger.  _

Lance’s breath gets caught in his throat upon entering the hanger. He had always known the lions were massive, having never seen them in person he assumed they’d be the size of a normal ship. He was so wrong. He feels like an ant compared to the lions, especially the black lion. 

King Alfor seems to catch onto Lance’s awestruck state, breaking the silence between them, “Would you like to take a ride in the red lion, Lance?” 

“Seriously!?” Lance half shouts, excitedly rocking on his heels. 

The king chuckles, taking his enthusiasm as a yes, leading the boy to the red lion. The lion opens up for him immediately, allowing King Alfor and Lance inside. One they’re in the cockpit the king places Lance gently on his lap, showing him all of the controls and even letting him pilot once they’re far enough away from any crashing hazards. 

Lance has the time of his life flying in the red lion, and everything about it makes him want to work harder so one day he could be the one to pilot her. 

Once the lion is back in the hanger, the king takes Lance to the training deck. He assumes the king simply wants to show him some basic defense tactics, he had been learning how to fight and protect himself more recently so it would make sense. However, the king pulls out a rather old looking broadsword, despite looking a little aged it seems to be in perfect condition. 

“I want you to have this, Lance,” the king says, handing him a broadsword, “My father gave it to me when I was around your age, and now I’d like you to have it.” 

Lance can’t seem to find any words, every bit of air in his lungs have been pushed out, leaving him standing there looking clueless. 

“I… I don’t understand? Why would you want to give this to me?” 

“You remind me a lot of myself, Lance, I know you’re going to be a paladin one day and you’re going to be one of the best. You just have to believe in yourself as much as I do. I think having this with you will help remind you just how great you are. You have greatness inside you.” 

Lance doesn’t even realize he’s crying when the king wipes his cheeks dry. How embarrassing, crying in front of the King of Altea. No one besides his mother has cared this much about how he’s doing. All of this support is new and frankly a little overwhelming. 

The king smiles down at Lance, handing him the sword with care. 

Lance looks up at him, still feeling a tad unsure but he takes it anyway, holding it at the hilt with both hands. It's heavier than it looks, it makes him feel powerful nevertheless.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance wakes up to what feels like the world breaking apart around him. The ground shaking violently as he tries to steady himself, he nearly falls over trying to change out of his pajamas. If he’s going to die there’s no way he’s doing it wearing these. He shakes his head and dashes towards the door, he has to find Allura instead of worrying about dying in his pajamas. 

Thankfully, it doesn’t take very long to find the princess. She’s still in her room, yelling at Coran for not letting her see her father. 

“Princess, your father told me to make sure you’re safe. You are his top priority right now. He wants to get you and Lance off of Altea immediately.” 

“I’m not going to leave my home!” Allura yells back, fighting to push past Coran. 

Lance runs his fingers through his hair, trying to wrap his head around exactly what’s happening. 

“Would anyone care to fill me in?” Lance asks, startling Allura and Coran, they were far too engrossed in bickering to even notice him come in. 

“Lance! We have to find my father! Zarkon has gone mad!” Allura is hysterical, arms failing rapidly. 

“Zarkon has gone mad? Isn’t he dead?” 

Croan sighs, “The quintessence seems to have affected him more than we had originally thought. He wants to destroy Altea, show King Alfor what it's like to lose everything.” 

“ _ What _ ? We can’t let him do that!” 

“I assure you, the king and other paladins have everything under control.” 

“What about my mother? Where is she?” 

“I’m sure she’s okay, Lance, but the king wants me to get you and Allura away from here. A warzone is no place for you.” 

_ Warzone. _ The word echoes through Lance’s head while Coran pulls him and Allura along. He doesn’t protest, too worried about where his mother could possibly be. 

“Lance,” a voice calls from behind them.    
  
Lance turns around to see his mother standing next to the king. He wastes no time running over to her and wrapping his arms around her.    
  
“I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again,” he whispers into her ear, holding her as close as possible.    
  
“I'll always be with you, Lance,” she says, giving her son a kiss on his forehead before pulling away. She pulls her necklace over her head and places it around Lance's neck. “Always.”    
  
“I love you.” Lance tries to bite back his tears, right hand wrapped tightly around the bright blue crystal now around his own neck.

“I love you, too, now go,” his mother smiles weakly, gently pushing him back towards Coran. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“What about you?” Lance asks, voice cracking, fear evident in every word he speaks.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll always be with you, sweetheart.” 

He smiles weakly, giving her one last hug before she pushes him into a cryopod. The last thing he sees before falling asleep is her smiling down at him.

 

* * *

 

Lance gasps, falling out of the pod and right into the arms of an unknown man. He looks up at him, inspecting his face closely, he looks fairly normal, save for the missing marks and weird ears.

“Who are you? And why are your ears so atrocious? The rest of you isn’t so bad but those  _ ears _ ,” Lance scoffs, not able to pull his eyes away from his ears. 

The man grunts, reaching up to cup his left ear, “There’s nothing wrong with my ears… I’m Shiro. Who are all of  _ you _ ?” 

“Lance, that’s Princess Allura, and her royal advisor Coran. Now, why are you in my castle? Do you know where the king is or my mother? How did you get in here? The castle is supposed to be guarded against intruders.” 

“Okay, that’s a lot of questions at once. I don’t know who the king is, nor have I seen your mother or any guards. And… a lion brought us here.” 

“Lion? Which lion?” Lance asks, gripping onto to Shiro’s shirt, hoping its the red lion and the king are somewhere near for Allura’s sake.

“The blue lion?” 

Lance frowns, his grip loosening on Shiro. Hopefully, the red lion is nearby. 

“Lance!” Allura yells from behind a computer. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, making his way over to her. 

“10,000 years. We’ve been asleep for 10,000 years.” 

Lance’s heart sinks, 10,000 years. 10,000 years have passed them by without them even feeling it. His mother… he barely even got to say goodbye to her. He sighs deeply, holding back as much as he can, not wanting the other’s to see him break down. That wouldn’t make for much of a first impression. 

“What about our families?” 

Allura shakes her head, trying to keep herself from crying. 

“Gone. They’re all gone. Altea has been destroyed as well as the planets in our solar system. It's all gone.”  

“Zarkon did this,” Lance says through gritted teeth, fists balled at his sides. 

“Zarkon?” Shiro asks. 

“You know Zarkon?” Allura raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes, he… he held me captive, he captured me.” 

Allura gasps, “He’s alive?”

Shiro nods, “He was looking for Voltron.” 

“How is that even possible?” Lance folds his arms over his chest, frowning deeply. 

“I don’t know, but we need to find Voltron before he does.” 

Lance nods; they can’t let Zarkon get his hands on Volton. The universe would cease to exist if he had that much power over it. 

 

— 

“Allura?” Lance calls, knocking on her bedroom door. The entire universe may have changed, but at least the castle is something familiar. 

“Come in,” she yells through the door. 

Lance steps into her room, smiling sadly, “How are you feeling?” 

“Probably the same way you’re feeling, Lance.” 

He nods, taking a seat next to her. There’s not much to say at this time, they’re both hurting, they're both lost, they just need to be with each other. 

“I wish we had more time to say goodbye,” Lance sighs, wiping away a few stray tears. 

Allura nods, not trusting her voice to speak at the moment. 

“I’m glad I still have you. I’m glad we can fight them together. We’re strong together and I promise to make you and your father proud in the red lion.” 

Allura smiles softly and moves to wrap her arms around Lance. 

“You’ve always made me proud, Lance. I’m glad I convinced you to stay in the castle with me, I’d be lost without you.” 

Lance smiles softly, hugging her tight. 

“I’m glad I met you all those years ago.” 

“Me too, Lance, me too.” 

Lance finds himself in the observatory far too often, legs pulled to chest, eyes trained on the vast sea of stars displayed in front of him. Brilliant stars shining so bright remind him of home. Remind him of once was. His beautiful home, gone for 10,000 years only feeling like mere moments to him. 

He and his mother used to lie out in the juniberry fields, naming as many as the constellations as they could. He misses the moments like that, how she used to hold him close, telling him little stories about all of the constellations. He wishes he could go back to those moments, hug her a little tighter, tell her he loves her one more time.

 

* * *

 

 

Heavy footsteps fill the silence, he can tell they’re from Shiro without even sparing him as much as a glance at him. The two have gotten rather close since they first started to form Voltron. Lance taking the role of second in command rather seriously. He wanted to get to know his leader the best he could, spending almost as much time with him as he does with Allura.   

“I know how you’re feeling, you know. Feeling completely lost and alone.” Shiro sighs, taking a seat next to Lance. “I already didn’t have much back on Earth. It was just me and my mom… and now she thinks I’m dead. I don’t even know if she’s okay anymore. Something could happen while I’m away and I’ll never know.” Shiro sighs, tears threatening to fall. 

Lance frowns, letting his hand find Shiro’s to give it a light squeeze. “I apologize for being so somber around you.” 

Shiro shakes his head and smiles softly.

“You have every right to be, Lance. You lost everything. Your pain is just as valid as mine is,” Shiro assures him, running his thumb over Lance’s.

“You think so?” 

Shiro looks deep into Lance’s eyes before speaking, “I know so. You’ve been through a lot. You’re allowed to have emotions and show them. Its normal, Lance, don’t try to push them away.” 

"You're allowed to have emotions too." Lance gaze stays trained on Shiro, his free hand moving to brush away a few stray strands of hair out of Shiro’s eyes. 

“I know,” Shiro sighs, looking out at the stars before them, his hand never leaving Lance’s. “Just know you aren’t alone anymore.” 

“Neither are you.” Lance grins, leaning against Shiro’s shoulder as they watch the stars together. Things are slowly starting to feel more and more normal, more like home. Lance’s relationship with the other paladins has since shifted from unfamiliar and strange to one more friendly and inviting. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! You can find me on tumblr [@starboyshiro](http://starboyshiro.tumblr.com) If you like my fics and want to support me consider buying me a [coffee](http://ko-fi.com/starboyshiro)?


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